In a prior optical spot moving control circuit, the optical spot is adapted to jump the recording tracks to its desired track by moving an optical pick-up while the number of tracks which the optical spot traverses is counted by a counter. In this case, the counter counts up or down in accordance with the moving direction until the value of the counting number reaches the desired one. The control is switched from moving control of the optical pick-up to tracking control thereof. The counting operation is based on the tracking error signal of a sine wave having a level varying in accordance with the traverse movement of the optical spot on the recording tracks in a direction of a radius of the optical disk and the whole reflection light quantity signal having a phase offset by 90 degrees relative to the tracking error signal.
The tracking control is made by controlling the optical pick-up so that the tracking error signal is drawn into a predetermined zero-cross position. Thus, when the optical pick-up is to be rapidly transferred from moving control to tracking control, it is desirable to transfer the control by timing such that the optical spot reaches a position between a desired recording track and a recording track just prior to the desired recording track.
However, such a timing cannot be obtained by only information from the counter counting the number of tracks which the optical spot traverses.
Such a counter can be provided that can count four times from the tracking error signal and the whole reflection light quantity signal. More particularly, four is counted by such a counter while the optical spot moves between the adjacent recording tracks. However, in the case that the timing is set on the information from the four times counter, if it erroneously counts once, the predetermined position where the timing is set is offset and cannot be disadvantageously returned.